Although there are more than 258 million widows in the world, they have always been invisible, unsupported and unaccounted for in societies. Widowhood often forces women to leave family and social structures, making them particularly vulnerable to isolation, violence and poverty. According to the data, between 2009 and 2013, nearly one in ten widows lived in extreme poverty.
Many women are forced to participate in degrading, harmful and even threatening practices as part of their partner’s burial or mourning rituals. In a number of countries, for example, widows are forced to drink the water in which their husband’s body has been washed.
Globally, women are less likely to have access to old age pensions than men, so the death of a spouse can lead to the total deprivation of these elderly women.
In addition, in areas of armed conflict, displacement and migration, in addition to the Covid-19 pandemic, tens of thousands of women, who have lost their partners, and many others whose partners have disappeared, found themselves speechless in society.
The International Day of Widows, celebrated every June 23, aims to end ostracization and better educate communities about the needs of vulnerable women such as widows.
When their husbands die, women may have difficulty accessing bank accounts and pensions to pay for health care or to support themselves. single-parent families and single senior women are already particularly vulnerable to poverty.
In addition, limited or no access to credit and other financial resources worsens their economic situation. Indeed, in many traditional societies, they are deprived of the right to inherit property, including land rights.
In Africa and Asia, widows find themselves victims of physical and mental violence (including sexual abuse) related to succession, land and property disputes. In some cases, they have to repay the debts incurred by their deceased husband.
Without the right to inherit, widows fall into a precarious situation, even into poverty, and become dependent on the charity of their husband’s family.
In some countries where widowhood is considered a very low social status, thousands of widows are denied by family members and deprived of housing.
This forces them to look for low-paying jobs, such as cleaning or begging or prostitution.
